Friday, March 2, 2012

Southeast Storytelling Festival

Last Autumn, the producers of the Southeast Storytelling festival in County Waterford, Ireland invited me to perform in a brand new division of the festival called Stories From the Wild. They were interested in the kind of adventure epics found on this blog.

Like the complete amateur that I am, I wrote back and said that while I was honored and could not imagine a more exciting opportunity, I would not be able to afford the cost of travel.

I'll never forget the email I got in return, one of the best surprises of my life. The producers were a bit bemused. "We're inviting you as an artist," they wrote. "We're hiring you. We will pay for all your travel. And we'd like you to stay and perform for all five days of the festival."

Keeping this quiet has been tough, but, unlike everything else, I decided to wait until the funding was secure before broadcasting it everywhere.

Finally, here at the very beginning of March, I got the go-ahead message. "The funding for international performers is coming along well," they wrote. "Put it on the calendar!"

So, it's official. I'll be traveling East at the end of September to perform here, alongside a very talented roster of artists and performers, including the best singer on earth. I can't wait to return to Ireland- it was the first foreign country I ever visited, fourteen years ago. I've wanted to go back ever since.

So, from now until September....I'd better learn how to tell a story. How to really tell a story, I mean.